Dismissing Opposition claims that the meeting was a public relations stunt, Mr Cowen said there was no 'magic silver bullet' to cure unemployment.

He said the Government had to ensure that all the State agencies were focused on job creation and job protection and that whatever could be done to support that aim should be done.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny had accused the Taoiseach of doing nothing in the last two years to create jobs or help the unemployed.

The party also accused the Taoiseach of being more concerned with saving his own job than creating any new ones.

The party's Innovation Spokesperson, Deirdre Clune, said she was 'stunned' that the Taoiseach was only now meeting a range of State agencies to discuss job creation, saying the unemployed wanted action, not public relations exercises.

Ministers today launched a blueprint for developing Ireland as a leader in international education.

Tánaiste Mary Coughlan acknowledged that the targets for international students were ambitious.

She said no Irish students would be displaced by extra foreign students and the places would be self-funded.

Earlier, employers' group IBEC said an early indication from the Government on the scale of the adjustment planned in the upcoming Budget would help support confidence in the economy.

The statement was issued to coincide with IBEC's publication of a report that recorded a significant improvement in how managers feel about the condition and outlook of their businesses.

IBEC's senior economist Fergal O'Brien said the survey showed further evidence of the strength of the export sector.